After all my time in Northern California, I'd never been to the wine country. We traveled there this past weekend for a wedding and had an amazing time! The weather was perfect and the hills are still green and so gorgeous.








Backdrop for the gorgeous wedding ceremony.


We had to make the hour drive to my favorite coastal town, Bodega Bay.

Labels: photography, travel

I tricked myself when I was figuring out the pleated bag pattern and cut out too many straps... So with a leftover long skinny piece of the lining I made this lanyard for my I.D. badge at work. So much cuter than the company-branded ones we get for free.

Labels: sewing

We had some friends visiting the past couple days and last night, after getting some BBQ takeout, I popped this pear/apple crisp in the oven. I used this recipe from Ree and it was heavenly. I substituted pears and apples for the peaches since they're not in season. The sauce tastes like candy and the crisp topping is perfect. Delicious!

Labels: cooking

To thank me for her clutch and earrings my sister sent me this awesome coin purse from Kailo Chic. What a fun way to get "paid" for the goodies I send her way!

Labels: etsy

I received such a great response to my pleated spring bag and so many requests for a pattern, I thought I'd give it a try. I tried to keep it a little shorter this time, so please let me know how you like it! Do you like my zillion-pictures method better? Constructive criticism always appreciated.

TERMS OF USE: This pattern is for personal use only. You may not sell this pattern, bags made from this pattern, or bags made from modifications to this pattern (example: enlargements, wider/longer strap, etc). Please do not distribute copies of this pattern to others; instead, please refer others who are interested in this pattern to my blog. Feel free to contact me if you have questions - I will happily make exceptions for charity and educational purposes, but please ask first.


Click here to download the instructions. (pdf format)
Updated: Slight correction to fabric requirements: You will need 3/4 yard of outer fabric, or (2) 10x10 scraps for the pockets.

Labels: bags, how-to's, sewing

Although I had to do almost everything twice for this quilt, I am so happy with the result.



I used the directions for the hour glass quilt on AmandaJean's site. Chain piecing helps this go together pretty quickly! Definitely take her advice and press the seams open.



My triangle piecing still needs some work but unlike my first try, the seams are all strong and I feel comfortable throwing it in the wash! Finished size is pretty big, 50" x 60" and it is light weight, quilted to fleece with no batting. Added bonus: I got to hand deliver the quilt to the precious recipient --



I am definitely glad I stuck with this project through all the ups and downs.

Labels: 2009 Quilts, quilting, sewing

I picked up some more fabric for pleated bags - I haven't forgotten I promised a tutorial! This was part of the motivation for cleaning up my stash - I should have been able to find fabric on hand for the tutorial but I couldn't resist these combos from Hobby Lobby! On sale, too.

The tutorial will be worked tomorrow while I'm still a temporary bachelorette (Pete is in Las Vegas with some friends from college). A perfect Sunday to lock myself in my craft room and sew all day!

Labels: fabric, wip

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway this week! I didn't expect that many entries - definitely a comment record for this site. See?



Without further ado, the random number generator had chosen the winners!

Pink & Purple Bundle - Meital
Blue & Green Bundle - Shirley
Red, Orange, & Yellow Bundle - Nova

Congratulations! Watch for an email from me to get your contact info.

Labels: fabric, giveaway

One more day to enter the fabric giveaway!



I work in a smaller, industry town that apparently didn't have a rush on the Orla Kiely section at Target. I just remembered to check it out yesterday and they had a large selection of mugs and dishes, plus some of the covered crates, laundry bags, and hanging shelves.

Of course, what I really wanted were the dishtowels so I could copy Beki's awesome Orla bag. No luck. I did pick up this orange mug but controlled myself for any other impulse purchases.

Labels: misc

Quilting away on the 2nd try baby quilt.

Wow, what a response to my destash giveaway! I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd get almost 180 comments. Only two more days until the drawing - there's still time to enter!

Labels: quilting, wip

I spent some time in my craft room this weekend cleaning out my fabric shelves. I have realized lately that I pass over the same fabrics often when looking through my supplies - they are very nice fabrics, just picked up before I really got a feel for my style.



Since this just happens to be my 600th post (yikes!) it seemed like a good time for a giveaway! I have three color-coordinated piles here that I will be sending to three commenters, chosen at random.


Pinks & Purples


Blues & Greens


Reds/Yellows/Oranges

Sizes range from small scraps to over half a yard. To enter, just leave a comment telling me your favorite color! Entry will be closed Friday 3/20 at 9pm CST. Spread the work and good luck!!

Updated: Entries are closed! Winners will be posted momentarily... Good luck!

Labels: fabric, giveaway

I have the 2nd try baby quilt to work on, my flutterby top to baste and quilt, and I just joined another swap, but now that I have a plan I couldn't resist cutting into all my pretty blue & green fabric for the wedding quilt. Happy Friday!

Labels: fabric, wip

Another of my resolutions was to keep my craft room tidy and inspiring. Not doing too good since this is what it's looked like for the past several weeks:



But after some spring cleaning (and house cleaning procrastination) it now looks better!



I've also added some new storage... I picked up these drawers and glass jars for my scraps at Ikea:





And my mother-in-law saved these awesome skinny drawers from the dentist's office where she works - they had to get all new furniture/equipment after the hurricane and were getting rid of these! They're a perfect fit for 12x12 paper and I also think I'll use them to sort my huge box of zippers (under the desk in those pictures above).



Now I'll feel better sitting at my sewing machine without the mess around me...



I've been in a little bit of a craft funk and just "wow the year is going quickly" funk the past while so this post at Toni's recently was a nice boost. I thought I'd share it here for those that might enjoy it too.

1. I am a one of a kind creation. There is no one else just like me nor will there ever be.

2. I stand tall because I am at peace with who I am, I like myself.

3. I take joy in my strengths, talents and skills. I have many.

4. I am aware of my faults but do not let them become a millstone around my neck.

5. I love and accept others freely because I am loved and accepted unconditionally.

6. I am free to praise others because I am not inferior.

7. I can laugh at myself because sometimes I am clueless, awkward, and say the wrong thing. I won't beat myself up for it.

8. I will take my mistakes as opportunities to grow and then move on.

8. I do not look for faults in others to make myself feel better. All of us are in process.

9. I am beautiful because I focus on the inside of who I am, and that overflows to the outside.

10. I will remember this list when my confidence feels shaky, because that certainly happens.

Labels: craft room, me

I've been commissioned to make a quilt for a wedding gift and have been having fun playing around with different ideas. I thought I'd share a little bit of my process.

First I copy and paste snapshots of my fabrics into a basic MSPaint file. I ordered these for the project so I had the photos in my etsy order.



Then I plan out the quilt using a tiny grid in Excel and paste in bits of the fabric photos to get a feel for how it looks. I thought I might try a little stripe action so I made this mockup first:



But I wasn't feeling it, so I tried a variation on Alissa's Sparks Baby Quilt pattern.



This is a lot closer! But I wasn't sold on the busy blocks, so I tried a more literal interpretation of the Sparks quilt inspired by AmandaJean's Flea Market Fancy quilt. (Which was inspired by Alissa, full circle quilt inspiration!)



Perfect! The next step is to figure out how to cut all the fabric, which I add to my notes by the mockup. For this quilt, the center squares are cut 4.5" x 4.5". The sides of each block start as a 4.5" x 5" piece and the tops/bottoms start as a 5" x 8.5" piece, which I will cut depending on how off-center I want the center block. Since there are seven fabrics and twelve blocks, this comes out to:



The sashing is a little more straightfoward - 3.5 x 8" vertical pieces between all the blocks, longer 3.5" strips between the rows, and enough 4.5" strips to assemble for the border.



Since I like this specific layout I made little notes by each block for how to cut the side pieces and tops/bottoms to get the right blocks (this will make sense if you look at the tutorial for the Sparks quilt). Combine it all together, and I print out an 8.5 x 11" sheet that looks like this:


Click to enlarge.

When I'm done with the quilt, I'll stick this in my "finished projects" binder in case I ever want to reference these measurements. And this process also holds me over when I don't have time to sew!

Labels: quilting, wip

My sister's request for turquoise earrings launched me into a slight jewelry obsession! I'm sending these to my cousin Megan to match her necklace.



These are the earrings on their way to my sister, definitely turquoise.



And I made some pink ones just for fun.



Hopefully that got it out of my system because I have a lot of sewing projects on the list!

Labels: jewelry

Image from Grosgrain.

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to learn how to sew clothes. Just think how motivating it would be to win this gorgeous dress from Kathleen. Click here for more info: Sunday Laundry Shirt Dress GIVEAWAY!!!!

Labels: sewing

I sometimes get so wrapped up in what I'm doing for a swap that I forget I'm going to get something back... And what a treat I received for the Celebrating Handmade swap!



First, this super sweet kitty doll. My kitten Addie especially loves her - I caught Addie trying to pick up the doll and carry her off, a tricky endeavor since the doll is as big as she is!



And also this adorable softie bus. Both of these are from Kathryn.



I've started getting my fat quarters in for the Sew, Mama, Sew swap, too, and it is so fun to keep getting little packages in the mail.

Labels: fabric, sewing, swaps